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Family off the grid, on the bio-diesel

There are no worries about the cost of electricity in the Van Dusen home - it's free.

Lifelong Prince Edward County resident, Steve Van Dusen has developed a bio-diesel charging system allowing the family's eight-bedroom home and three other buildings on the on Clarke Road property, south of Picton, to remain completely off the hydro grid.

Van Dusen, 42, uses vegetable oil to power a charging system producing DC power, which is then stored in batteries to power the home and surrounding buildings.

"It takes the infrastructure of a trillion-dollar company to bring electricity into most people's homes and it costs us absolutely nothing," he said. "I run the system for two hours in the morning and another two hours at night to keep it charged and we could operate three or four days here without running it at all.

"This entire facility was built using alternative energy and in all of our research, we haven't been able to find anywhere else that has done that."

Driving along Clarke Road, the first hint of something unique at the Van Dusen property is the hydro lines, or lack of hydro lines. The line that serves this area stops several hundred metres before the driveway.

Oddly enough, the absence of hydro led to his innovation. It began when he wanted to construct the family home more than five years ago. After inquiring about the cost to bring power to the property, he was determined to find another way.

When construction began, tools were run off of batteries until the charging system was in place and took over the production of power. Today, the home is filled with an abundance of televisions, computers and home appliances.

"We don't have to worry about conserving because the (electricity) is limitless and we don't lose it," he said. "I applaud anyone who uses alternative sources like windmills or solar but there is a big difference. Those systems are dependent on other factors -- wind and sunshine -- whereas we are not."

While Van Dusen's charging system burns used vegetable oil -- which he collects from local restaurants -- he points out that it can be designed to run off traditional sources such as gasoline or propane. The key, he explains, is being able to store the produced energy and convert it to conventional AC power found in homes.

While the system provides electricity to the all the buildings on the property, the home and water are heated by a wood-burning boiler system, which of course is powered by energy produced by the charging system.

Along with partners, a company has been formed and is on the verge of taking the technology to both the commercial and residential markets.

"The potential here is huge," he said. "We want to be the first company to develop 100 per cent sustainable energy. Other methods still require some hydro assistance, but this will allow people to produce all the energy they will need, and it's clean."

Although he is not able to discuss the details of production, Van Dusen doesn't keep all the secrets to himself. He currently runs an integrated co-op program for RockHaven Children's Services, a treatment foster care agency. Up to five teenage boys will spend time in the shops learning about auto mechanics and alternative energy production.

District supervisor George Flagler said the teenagers are gaining valuable experience from their coop placement.

"This gives them some alternatives to look at and gets them thinking outside of the traditional production of energy," he said. "They get to see and learn first hand how a source of alternative energy is produced as well as learn how to operate the system, and that is an experience that can only help them."

As a builder, Van Dusen has constructed a number of homes in Prince Edward County and while always trying to find efficiencies to conserve energy, marvels at how his own home operates with endless power available free of charge.

"There are 13 of us living in this house and we have to shower every day, do laundry, cook and yet we don't even have to think about the energy we use," he said. "The controls tell the system when we need more power and everything is fully automated so it just does its own thing. The best thing is, we are not wasting it because it is limitless with this technology."